Paul B.

Don't you just hate it when a solution tells you one thing, but the results are totally opposite. The concrete cleaner we used on a job states on the label that it will not darken or discolor concrete. Closer look at the MSDS reveals that the key ingredient is Sodium Hydroxide - which can and will darken concrete. Nothing a bit of Oxalic acid won't reverse, but I hate seeing misleading information on a label. Knowing how chemicals react with substrates can save you a lot of headaches.

Didn't need the chemical, it would have been a waste of money. Surface cleaner and water (some pool shock to remove leaf stains). This was a test and if the oxalic would not have worked, we would have made it all dark. The oxalic was Envirospecs White-Ox concrete blend for rust removal. Sorry, don't have any after photos - it all blended - just have to take my word for it. We applied White-Ox, dwell 5 minutes, then rinsed. 15 minutes later we were applying V-Seal 101. Within an hour everything was dry. I know the customer was happy since we were paid and picked up deck work from him. I only took the photo to harass the chemical supplier (that's why I don't have after shots).

I also work with custom and production home builders. We provide new construction cleaning service (brick, stone, masonry, concrete). The builder is provided with a package that they provide the homeowner, which contains deck care and concrete sealing information. Our package recommends deck finishing as soon as wood is dry and concrete sealing. Most of these decks (99%) are PT wood.

Alkaline type soap and chlorine mix will not do that as chlorine is also an alkaline. However, your mixed container should never be completely sealed. Need a small vent hole or safety relief type container. When you mix Sodium Hydroxide from powder, you can feel the heat generated. In an enclosed container that heat can pressurizes a closed container. Mixed percarbonate should not be stored in a closed container as gases expand and can blow your container. Sounds like an acid based cleaner was mixed with the chlorine (acid mixed with chlorine will create a poisonous gas). This is why its important to know a little bit of chemistry in this business, rather than just getting someone to tell you what product to use. It is also important to have MSDS on your chemicals. The MSDS will tell you all toxic and hazardous contents and will provide you with a pH level. High pH 8 and above is Alkaline, 6 and below is Acid. Above all, read all labels on products you use for warnings and precautions. Remember: "Safety First and Make IT Last!"

It's time once again to review the winners of the annual "Stella Awards". The Stella's are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled coffee on herself and successfully sued McDonalds. That case inspired the Stella awards for the most frivolous successful lawsuits in the United States. The following are this year's winners: 5th Place (tie): Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas, was awarded $780,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were understandably surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving little toddler was Ms. Robertson's son. 5th Place (tie): A 19-year-old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000 and medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Mr. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps. 5th Place (tie): Terrence Dickson of Bristol, Pennsylvania, was leaving a house he had just finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the garage door to go up since the automatic door opener was malfunctioning. He couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the house and garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation, and Mr. Dickson found himself locked in the garage for eight days. He subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found, and a large bag of dry dog food. He sued the homeowner's insurance claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The jury agreed to the tune of $500,000. 4th Place: Jerry Williams of Little Rock, Arkansas, was awarded $14,500 and medical expenses after being bitten on the buttocks by his next door neighbor's beagle. The beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. The award was less than sought because the jury felt the dog might have been just a little provoked at the time by Mr. Williams who was shooting it repeatedly with a pellet gun. 3rd Place: A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, $113,500 after she slipped on a soft drink and broke her coccyx (tailbone). The beverage was on the floor because Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument. 2nd Place: Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware, successfully sued the owner of a night club in a neighboring city when she fell from the bathroom window to the floor and knocked out her two front teeth. This occurred while Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the window in the ladies room to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge. She was awarded $12,000 and dental expenses. 1st Place: This year's run away winner was Mr. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Mr. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On his first trip home (from an OU football game), having driven onto the freeway, he set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the drivers seat to go into the back and make himself a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly, the R.V. left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mr. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising him in the owner's manual that he couldn't actually do this. The jury awarded him $1,750,000 plus a new motor home. The company actually changed their manuals on the basis of this suit, just in case there were any other complete morons buying their recreation vehicles.

I agree Jon! What about that person that was awarded over $1 billion dollars for their lung cancer for smoking. How much money can YOU get for being STUPID?

Jon, Let us know how your case comes out. I have some bail money set aside just in case.

Rob, If the workers are legal that's great! At least one of you is legal. The next step is for you to get legal with their witholdings! If your time is free, then why do you charge your customers for your time? Charge them for equipment use and materials only. With that kind of advice, I think you need to find another CPA! ...and keep reading those business books! Melissa, You may give free estimates, but your time is still considered working. - When you do paperwork for your business, that is considered working. - If you drive to the store to pick up supplies, that is considered working. - If you have to pick up business cards at the printer, ...your working. These all become the composite for your hourly rate. If you had to do the above things while working for someone else, would you expect to get paid for it? Would you consider it working? YEEES!

The CWA applies to residential work also if there is a run-off of cleaning and rinsewater into the storm system thru a sloping driveway, the run-off can enter a creek, stream or river. You can try to redirect the runoff from the driveway into the grass or ground area. If that's not possible, the run-off (by CWA) SHOULD be collected.

I was thinking if these guys carry 14 gallon tanks - man, I must be real soft.

Grant, An LLC or LTD will accomplish the same thing (at either partnership or sole proprietor status), without the costs and extra amount of paperwork that go with a chapter "S".

If you are wanting to take these workers full time and legitimate, chances are that will not happen since they are illegal and do not have social security, green card, etc., etc., so they will not be willing to do it. They'll be gone with the wind to the next job that will pay them cash. You and your business alone are the ones at risk every day that you have illegal workers and pay cash, without paying taxes. If one of your workers gets hurt on the job, you and your business will be at risk. You're business is not even a LLC or Limited Liability business to protect your personal assets. You could lose your business as well as have a large judgement against you personally. Of course, LLC will not help you if you are conducucting illegal business activities or knowingly put folks at risk. As for the deck project: You can't figure labor of some without figuring labor of all others (like your own labor). You are just decieving yourself in the long run. If you spent $160 on labor at $7 per hour then that is 23 hours, plus your 8 hrs., which totals 31 hrs. $1550 divided by 31 hours is $50 per hour. If you think you made good money, then you did and do you still think you can and have to charge $150 per hour? That would take your sq ft cost to $4.50.

Rob, This can be a starting point for you: www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6en/w/pw.htm There are houses we wash that are near creeks and some even have their gutters empty into ponds, while others have driveways that angle into the street. If a driveway angles into the street, we berm it and redirect the water into the grass / ground - away from the storm drain or sewer. Where gutter down-spouts are going into systems that feed ponds, we disconnect the pipes and redirect the water into the ground. There are some jobs I will not take on because the water needs to be picked up and it's not practicle or cost effective as in case of a house wash or deck care job. Sometimes it feels right to say NO to a job.

Is that a 4 or 14 gallon back pack sprayer? Most backpack sprayers are much slower than Shur-flo pumps. If you're interested in a Shur-flo, I would say that a 1 GPM pump would be too slow for you to use. The 3 GPM would most likely pump out the amount and speed you are looking for.

We run across some things on most jobs that can not be removed without brushing. There is no shame in having to brush. By brand name, a few of the commercial soaps are: www.SunBriteSupply.com (AllBrite) www.Hotsy.com (Ripper 1) www.RowlettPressure.com (Citracleen) Delco at www.dcs1.com sells soaps Envirospec at www.Espec.com sells soaps www.Xterior.com at Xterior

Rob, Since this was your 1st year in business for yourself and first year doing decks, how many decks did you work on and what percentage of the overall customer base do you think you serviced? How many total man hours did it take you to complete that project (including washing, brightening, sanding, painting and staining)? Was it 28 man hours? How much do you think you charged per square foot? Did you prime the areas where the paint was chipped off? Anyone can guarantee their work for 1 year, that is not a grat feat.

It's VETERANS day! SALUTE!

Rob, You missed all of the points and swept them under the table. You can pay your employees cash, but you need to withhold and pay into all the above mentioned taxes. Then give them a check stub with the cash. You also avoided my question about the size of the deck and not using primer under the paint job you did this past Saturday. I think many will take exception to your statemen: "yes this was the highest quality you will get in st. louis".

Thank you Robert! As humans, we are given the ability for broad thinking and this certainly challanges that process.

Rob, Most likely your workers are illegal immigrants. It is your job as an employer to know and verify that they have social security and green cards. IT IS THE LAW. You also should be collecting and or paying into Social Security, Unemployment, FICA, Medicare, State and Local Taxes (where they apply). As a business with employees, you should also be paying into workers comp. You are one of the many businesses that are conducting illegal practices and hurting our economy by paying cash "under the table" and not paying and collecting taxes. What you are doing is illegal and unethical. You are setting a bad example to all others businesses when you brag about paying $7 per hour to illegal workers and than bragging about billing $150 per hour to your customers. How can you call Pressure Pro legitimate, when you are conducting illegal and unethical business practices? What was the size of the deck that took 3 hours to clean and 22 man hours to paint and seal. $160 labor divided by $7 per hour is 23 man hours. It takes 7 people to finish that in 3 hours and 6 to finish in 4 hours. I won't even get into the quality of the deck care work your customer received this Saturday knowing what the weather was like and knowing that you didn't prime under that paint job. ROB, You also need to check into your laws as it concerns paying salaries to laborers. That is also not legal. To claim legitimacy and to gain any credibility, you will have to change your business practices.

Finally! ...it's 2 weeks away - as of Nov. 24, 2003 you will be able to take your cell phone numbers with you when you switch carriers and in some cases be able to take your land phone number and switch it to a cell phone.

(It's squeegee.) No, window cleaning is extra. We rinse and it air dries.

Tony, No, you don't have to have it, but remember this is a safety net for someone that's going full time from day one. There is a lot at risk and the odds become greater for failure with shallower pockets. The season is too short, and weather is too unpredictable. Most of the advertising fund for the 1st year should be committed early in a start-up to have timely returns. If you don't get calls, you don't earn to pay for more advertising. If you're starting part time, you have time to experiment and piece meal it. I think your statistical data will not be there until you have gone one full cycle or one whole year (especially in northern climates). Also, I believe that you have to attack marketing from several angles as at times one will have better returns than another. So on, so on... The approach will be different for each person - one is comfortable with a dollar in their pocket while the next person is not comfortable even with a bulging wallet.

Rob, Prices vary as with all other work. I talked to a couple of my customers this year about gutter cleaning and they have local handy-man that did theirs. I was stunned at the price they are doing it for. One fellow does most of the houses in the neighborhood and charges $50 for 2000 sq ft ranch (about 150 linear ft) and $100 for a 2 story. He gets up on top of the roof (if pitch is not too steep) and works from there. He's normally finished in 1/2 to 1 hour from the time he hits the roof. I would think $200 for starting price would be a bit high, but then again I don't know what size or types of houses you are talking of. I've read some folks on these boards and from what I remember some start at about $90 and go up from there. Again, it's all about location, size, along with supply and demand.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Key West has changed drastically over the past 10 years and has become a full time tourist city. Tourism at one time was seasonal, so the locals had a chance to recouperate. Yes, Hotels and Motels are outrageously priced at high season or special events (not cheap other times). Holiday Inn beachside has better prices and facilities along with the Hampton Inn a couple miles down the road. Home prices are outrageous also. A house sold 8 years ago for $300K is now priced over $1M. Key West is not the best for beaches - all the sand there is imported from the Bahamas and Bimini. Lot of choral and rocks when the sand washes away. A lot of the land areas are man made. The best beach is at Bahia Honda (as far as I'm concerned). But there are 3 beaches - Higgs, Smathers and the one by Fort Taylor If you don't like the bar scene and water activities, Key West is not for you. However, there are many interesting things in Key West, but you have to go off the beaten path to enjoy some of those. Duval is the beaten path. Here are some tourist attractions: - Hemmingways House - The Fogarty House - Audobon House & Garden - The Curry Mansion - The Southern Most House - Southernmost Point - Cigar makers shotgun houses - San Carlos Institute - Custom House - Aquarium - The Key West House - Bahama Houses - Casa Marina - East Martello Tower - West Martello Tower - Mel Fishers museum (treasures from the Atocha) - Sunset at the Pier (all the performers at Mallory Square) - The lighthouse - The Maritime museum - City Cemetary - Ols town - Captain Tony's - Sloppy Joe's - Fort (Zachary) Taylor - Off shore racing of Power Boats - Fantasy Fest - Cuban cigar makers (there is probably only 1 shop left in town) - Gumbay festival - Spring break - Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville restaurant, bar and giftshop - Great view from the top of the La Cancha (Holiday Inn Rooftop) - Snorkeling, diving and sailing - Deep sea fishing - The Conch train - Fort Jefferson at the Dry Tortugas - Garrison Bight - charterboats display their days catch - Shrimp boats at Carolina & Margaret streets Key West has some great history - Wrecking days (salvaging cargo) - Sponging - The overseas railroad (Flagler's train) - Von Cosel - Story of Elena Hoyos (the doctor that revived his dead fiance) - Shrimping (the huge pink shrimp find near Tortugas) - Off shore fishing - Cigar makers and the shotgun houses - Homes (if you appreciate architecture) - Rum running between Key West and Cuba - Cemetary (one specific is the memorial to the battleship "Main") For good food I would recommend: - Cuban restaurants - there are at least 3 good family owned restaurants in town. (Cibonare, El Cacique, Le Lichonare. El Cibonay) - don't quote me on the spelling - Search for the best Key Lime pie - Search for the best Conch Chowder Driving up and down the keys can also be fun. - Check out the Key Deer on Big Pine. - Bahia Honda - beach, snorkeling, diving, sailboarding - The 7 mile bridge - John Pennekamp National Park (great diving & snorkeling). - Sugarloaf has a dolfin sanctuary next to the lodge/restaurant.